Commercial vanilla is produced by curing the mature fruits of Vanilla planifolia or V. x tahitensis (Orchidaceae). The largest portion of the vanilla marketed worldwide comes from V. planifolia and originates from the Indian Ocean region. Madagascar provides over 70% of the world's vanilla production, with the vanilla coming from small village plantations in the Northern provinces of this country. Vanilla is also produced in e.g. Indonesia (10%), Comoros (5%), India (5%), and Uganda (5%). The United States of America, Europe, and Japan are the main vanilla consumer countries. However, current world production of vanilla, which is about 2,500 tons/year, only partially meets the annual global demand for vanilla, which is estimated at more than 3,000 tons/year. This deficiency in vanilla supply is typically met by production of vanillin through synthesis or biosynthesis from various raw materials in order to accommodate demand.
Vanilla planifolia originated in Mexico and Central America. Some genetic diversity still exists in protected natural areas and farmer plots, but this diversity tends to diminish year after year (Soto Arenas 1999; Soto Arenas 2003). From its native region, very few vanilla varieties are cultivated and none of which have been accurately characterized (Roux-Cuvelier & Grisoni 2010). Global vanilla production is therefore based on an extremely narrow genetic base, which limits the possibilities of adapting to global changes (e.g. global climate change).
The premature fruit drop that dramatically impacts Mexican farmers in the Veracruz region is considered a harbinger of the impact of climate change on this traditional crop (Hernandez Hernandez 2011). In the Indian Ocean area, the increasing pressure of pests and diseases in production plots strongly hampers the vanilla industry (Grisoni et al. 2009). In particular, the root rot disease, caused by the soil borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis vanillae (Koyyappurath et al. 2015), has had severe impacts on the vanilla market since the 2000s.
Obtaining new genetic resources for vanilla, which are e.g. better adapted to the biotic and abiotic constraints while still meeting commercial requirements, is therefore an issue of primary importance for the global vanilla market and vanilla breeders. Indeed, vanilla remains one of the most requested and popular spices in the world. Accordingly, there exists a need for improved vanilla varieties with improved disease resistance and commercial viability as compared to other traditional vanilla varieties.